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One early match in the 2013 Vanderbilt Teams saw the most startling outcome ever.

At halftime, heavily favored “Team Monaco” led Sabine Auken, Roy Welland, and Morten and Dennis Bilde, 94 to 11. AUKEN rallied and appeared to lose by only six IMPs.

But AUKEN had lodged an appeal in an early deal. Table screens were in use. When North bid three diamonds, South, on one side of the screen, told East (Auken) that the bid artificially showed five hearts and denied four spades. That was in fact North-South’s agreement. But when South bid 3NT, North told West (Welland) that South denied three hearts or four spades. South told East that 3NT denied three hearts.

Welland led a spade: deuce, ace, jack. Auken shifted to the eight of diamonds, and Welland played an encouraging diamond to suggest a passive defense. Declarer led the nine of hearts: five, queen, king. Back came a diamond, so South led a second heart, ducking West’s jack. The contract was made.

Pity the appeals committee, which had to decide the match. (To hear the appeal at the half would have been farsighted.) East-West said if correctly informed, they might have found a winning defense. North-South said 3NT should have failed anyway.

With a host of subtle factors to consider, the committee ruled down one. That decision has been hotly debated, but committees must make judgment calls. (Some people favor scrapping the appeals process.)

Lost in the tumult was the grit of AUKEN, who erased an 83-IMP deficit. And they went on to win the Vanderbilt!